Shadow the Hedgehog designed for US

Of all the wrong turns the Sonic franchise has taken over the years, few have been quite so regrettable as execrable third person shooter Shadow the Hedgehog. Why did SEGA do it? Because they thought it "could work for" US gamers.

In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, Sonic Colours producer Takashi Iizuka explained, "After Sonic Adventure, we had two studios, in the US and Japan.

"The Japanese Studio was to develop a Sonic game in the standard style, and the US studio was to develop something different which could contribute to the Sonic franchise."

"That background generated the Shadow game as he appeared from Sonic Adventure. We wanted to offer other game systems to attract a different audience from traditional Sonic fans. In the US, first and third-person shooters were popular and we decided to go with a character who could work with them."

Released back in 2005 on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, SEGA's reviled Sonic shooter spin-off won a miserable 5/10 from Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell.

Happily, things seem to have gotten back on track with the Sonic franchise of late, relatively speaking. Recent Wii adventure Sonic Colours was the hedgehog's finest 3D outing in quite some time.